Early Entrance?

Quote: "There are simple solutions to problems like this, and most of those solutions are very obvious maybe even common sense"

Please enlighten us.

But, is it even worth fixing? How many people are back there that either (a) aren't staying on-point, or (b) don't have JCC?

Sure, there's a big crowd, but those hotels are pretty big too, and they are sold out nearly every night in peak season (which is really the only time ERT matters much anyway).

If it's tens of guests "sneaking" in, it's probably not worth the effort to check. And, I don't really care all that much either---and I'm usually a resort guest AND a JCC member.

On a related note: I sure would like to see them get rid of the special season pass lanes. Even though I'm a passholder and benefit from them, I've seen some scuffles between day guests and passholders about whether or not the passholders are "cutting" in line. I think it would run more efficiently and be more fair if any available turnstile could admit any entitled guest.

If the rumors about new pass equipment hold true, perhaps this is coming, as well. *** Edited 2/15/2007 7:12:02 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

Being one of the admissons employees who worked at the Resort Gate over the past season, I can tell you that for the most part we didnt need to check, many times guests came to the gate with their hotel pass in hand so we could see it, thus there was no reason for us to ask for it. That along with the fact that almost everyone coming into the park through that gate was staying in the hotels.

nievsbob said:
Please enlighten us.

Well, if there is a problem with figuring out who is and is not qualified for Early Entry, how about hang a sign up (one that is large enough to read from 75 yards away) so guests getting to the gate before it opens can clearly see which line to stand in. Wow, I really used my brain on that one. Im pooped.

Brian Noble said:
But, is it even worth fixing? How many people are back there that either (a) aren't staying on-point, or (b) don't have JCC?

I myself think its not a big enough deal to fix. But I have seen the line for the resort gate stretch out to the Soak City lot. I doubt all of those people were from Light House and Sandcastle. At the same time another line was forming that stretched to the Bon Aire section of Breakers. It CAN get very busy at that gate. Especially when people figure out that they can park in the back and get in faster then using the front gate.

^^ - part of the issue is that I would LIKE to be asked for my resort pass. Even if you can already see it. Why? Because then I, as a guest who has just shelled out 100+ bucks for my room, know that you are actually checking for this perk that I'm paying for. If you don't ask me, then I'm assuming you're not asking the guy 3 behind me who just pulled up in his car and payed 50 bucks that night to stay off-point.

If everyone at that gate gets in early, then why am I bothering to spend the extra money to stay on-point when I can stay off, and just park in back and go in that entrance?

Signs may seem like a simple solution, but a lot of guests don't seem to read signs in the first place so I don't think that would really do much good.

For example: On days when they know that TTD will be down all day they sometimes put up huge signs both by the entrance and the platform that say "Top Thrill Dragster will not open today." Pretty self explanatory and easy to understand, right? You'd be amazed at the number of people who stop, read the sign, and then still go up to a crew member and ask them what time the ride's going to open or if they're allowed to go wait in line.

^ and that is why every worker should be given a tack hammer, and the back of the tickets should have a warning that states "Stupid questions my be answered by repeated blows to the head by a tack hammer."

^^That's different. That is just people being stupid and thinking the park is not telling the truth about if it IS really going to open. Just like when you close a ride for weather, people will STILL ask when it will open even if there is a tornado on top of the ride. The Resort gate has a large sign that reads “entrance” on the front of it, but people don’t question if it really is the entrance to the park. You hang a sign that says “stand here if you want to get in early” and I am sure people will do it. Those who don’t have no argument then when they complain that they didn’t know. If the line gets to long and you can’t see the sign, then the park should send out an employee asking people (which the already do).

*** Edited 2/15/2007 10:26:54 PM UTC by 99er***

I understand what you're trying to say, but the people who are going back there to try to cheat and get in early with the resort guests even though they're not resort guests are exactly the ones who will also completely ignore that sign and get in the line anyway, which brings us right back to the problem of who's a resort guest and who's not that the sign was supposed to be solving.

Then at that point, it comes down to the employee. Which can go one of two ways.

*** Edited 2/15/2007 11:16:46 PM UTC by 99er***

So it would be exactly the same as what they're doing now except with an additional sign.

How about a sign: "you must ave an IQ greater than your dog in order to enter.

^^A sign is just one thing I can think of they could do. Probably the easiest. And it should help the problem a lot. But it will only work if the public is informed. A little sign sitting next to the turnstile is going to do crap if you can’t see it when your back by the Challenge Park ticket booths.

What’s another solution? (this one is a little more extreme) How about you make separate gate (one, maybe two turnstiles) to the left of the Resort gate. Only open in the morning for this reason. Unless you were walking from Breakers along Challenge Golf, you would not even see this gate. Now, how would resort guests know about this? Tell them on the back/font of the card they get as well as tell them to read the card when they get it. After that, its up to the guest to read it. This would also create another line away from the general public line. I am sure you would still have GP standing in the early entry line, but not nearly as many when the two lines are next to each other.

I like that though. It would require a little revamping of that area, but if you move the gate back about 10 feet, it would be perfect.

A Challenge Park overhaul is needed anyway and I think a new gate would look nice. There is enough room around the corner to the left to add a turnstile. There is also room on the right too, but the left would make more sense to me. If you look here , the X's are spots I think would work.

*** Edited 2/15/2007 11:56:34 PM UTC by 99er***

The resort gate has been rumored for several years to be getting a remodel... they want to add two or three more turnstiles. But if they dont staff it so that all those turnstiles can be used then it will be pointless to expand.

If they had tickets and turnstiles like Disney, they wouldn't have to worry about staffing EVERY turnstile. People can scan them and go in themselves. No need for an employee to touch the ticket.

Brian Noble said:
But, is it even worth fixing? How many people are back there that either (a) aren't staying on-point, or (b) don't have JCC?

If it's tens of guests "sneaking" in, it's probably not worth the effort to check.

On a related note: I sure would like to see them get rid of the special season pass lanes.

My point exactly. If the numbers of guests abusing the privilege is so low (and in the 10's is probably an accurate guess for most days) why bother checking if the solution causes more problems than the violators do? Also, the issue with having separate season pass lanes. Right now the setup allows for the easiest way to keep an accurate count of how many people are coming through the gates, both tickets and season pass holders. It would be possible to integrate everything, but with the current setup and equipment, the way things work now are the easiest way of doing it.

JuggaLotus said:
^ and that is why every worker should be given a tack hammer, and the back of the tickets should have a warning that states "Stupid questions my be answered by repeated blows to the head by a tack hammer."

Amen to that. :)

halltd said:
If they had tickets and turnstiles like Disney, they wouldn't have to worry about staffing EVERY turnstile. People can scan them and go in themselves. No need for an employee to touch the ticket.

Honestly, I've been to Disney, and I don't know how they get away with the system they have. There is a very high percentage of CP guests that can't figure out how the whole "walk up to someone and hand them your ticket" routine works. I don't know if Disney guests have an overall higher IQ or what, but their system would be way too complicated for your average CP guest to figure out. If you don't believe me, spend about 20 minutes watching people enter the front gates sometime.

Going back to the problem at the Magnum gate, people have mentioned putting up signs or dividing guests into separate lines before the gate even opens. Again, that's an idea that would work in theory, but people do not read signs. I can't explain it, it seems so elementary, but people either just don't look or don't pay attention to them. Dividing people into separate lines could at least help, but when 99% of everyone at the Magnum gate qualifies, it wouldn't seem to be worthwhile. The idea of making a totally separate gate to the side for early entry people to go in is probably the best one I've heard yet. If done properly, it would probably work really well.

So I guess the point I'm really trying to make here is, I don't think anything needs fixing at the Magnum gate. You can blow it up and make a big deal about it all you want, but it's really a non-issue. Your average resort guest most likely believes that they are the only ones at that gate, so I just can't see it being an issue where they would think they're getting ripped off.

Disney's new finger scan system isn't so easy to get pass.

with the current setup and equipment, the way things work now are the easiest way of doing it.

I totally understand that, and don't expect it to change unless the equipment is upgraded. But, with the new pass printers, and the rumblings that make it sound like KI and CP (at least) will share ticket material in some way, I remain hopeful.

I've been to Disney, and I don't know how they get away with the system they have.

I think they get some help by being a multi-day destination for the vast majority of their guests, rather than a day trip. A guest only has to learn how to use the turnstiles once, and then they're good to go for the rest of their trip. To get a sense for this, watch the turnstiles early in the week, say on a Monday, and compare that to a Friday. From what I can tell, guests are much better at getting in as the week goes on.

But, they did switch from the hand geometry reader (which requires that you squeeze the poles with two fingers) to one that measures geometry of a single finger, because the latter is easier for guests to use.